Package box, cushion and plate material

ABSTRACT

A package box including an outer box and at least two cushions disposed symmetrically in the outer box is provided. The cushion includes a rectangular bottom plate, two long side plates, two short side plates and at least two container structures. The long side plates are connected perpendicularly with long sides of the bottom plate. The short side plates are connected perpendicularly with short sides of the bottom plate. The container structures are disposed in a region surrounded by the bottom plate, the long side plates and the short side plates. Each container structure has a concave. The concaves join to form a containing space. A plate material of the cushion is also provided.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number95148853, filed Dec. 25, 2006, which is herein incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The invention relates to a package box, a cushion, and a plate material.

2. Related Art

Electronic devices such as the laptop computer are vulnerable to damagesdue to external forces during the transportation. Therefore, they havehigher demands for the packaging structure. Currently, the most commonmethod is to provide inside the package box several cushions, such asseparator boards, paper, plastic cushions, plastic foam, and bubblewraps. They serve the purpose of preventing the electronic devices fromhitting the package box walls during the transportation, therebyprotecting them from external forces. However, these cushions often haveunsmooth edges that may cut the user. Moreover, the plastic cushionshave bad impacts to the ecological system. In contrast, paper cushionshave fewer impacts to the environment, reduce the stocking space, andenjoy the cost-effective advantage.

Currently, the most common manufacturing technology for making papercushions is to use a mold to directly and thermally press paper intoshape. Alternatively, the paper board is cut into plates of variousshapes according to need, and the plates are folded and glued intoshape.

Conventional package boxes have different types of cushions that areasymmetric in structure. This inevitably increases the cost inproduction, assembly, transportation, and material logistics. Therefore,it is imperative to provide a paper cushion with a smooth shape and asymmetric structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the invention is to provide a package box and a cushion,wherein the cushion supports and fixes the article inside the packagebox and prevents it from damages due to external impacts.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a cushion folded fromenvironmentally friendly paper.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a cushion and a platematerial with smooth shapes and symmetric structures, so that theirtransportation, material logistics, and production and assembly aresimpler.

In accord with the above-mentioned objectives, the disclosed package boxincludes an outer box and at least two cushions disposed symmetricallyinside the outer box. Each cushion includes a rectangular bottom plate,two long side plates, two short side plates and at least two containerstructures. The long side plates are connected perpendicularly with longsides of the bottom plate. The short side plates are connectedperpendicularly with short sides of the bottom plate. The containerstructures are disposed in a region surrounded by the bottom plate, thelong side plates and the short side plates. Each container structure hasa concave. The concaves join to form a containing space.

In accord with the above-mentioned objectives, the disclosed cushionincludes a rectangular bottom plate, two long side plates, two shortside plates, and at least two container structures. The long side platesare connected perpendicularly with long sides of the bottom plate. Theshort side plates are connected perpendicularly with short sides of thebottom plate. The container structures are disposed in a regionsurrounded by the bottom plate, the long side plates and the short sideplates. Each container structure has a concave. The concaves join toform a containing space.

In accord with the above-mentioned objectives, a plate material isproposed to form a cushion. The plate material includes a bottom platewith two long sides and two short sides. Each short side of the bottomplate is connected with a short side plate. Each long side of the bottomplate is connected with a long side plate and at least one containerstructure. The container structure includes a first plate, a secondplate, a third plate, a concave side plate, and a concave bottom plate.The first plate, the second plate, and the third plate are connected insequence to the long side plate. The concave side plate and the concavebottom plate are disposed between the first plate and the second plate,with the concave side plate connecting to the first plate and theconcave bottom plate connecting to the second plate. The concave sideplate and the concave bottom plate are connected as well.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cushionsupports and fixes the article inside the package box, preventing itfrom damages due to external impacts.

In another embodiment of the invention, the material of the cushion isenvironmentally friendly paper.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the cushion has a smoothshape in order not to cut the user.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the cushion has at least onecushion opening to achieve better cushion effects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent by reference to the following description andaccompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, andthus are not limitative of the invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the package box according to the preferredembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the cushion in the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 along the A-A′ line; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the plate material for forming the cushionin the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be apparent from the following detaileddescription, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein the same references relate to the same elements.

The cushion in conventional package boxes is plastic and thus unfriendlyto the environment. Moreover, it often has an uneven edge which may cutthe user. Besides, the package box usually contains cushions ofdifferent types and asymmetric structures. This increases the costs forproduction, assembly, transportation, and logistics. The inventiondiscloses a cushion folded from paper and having an even shape so as notto cut the user.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in thedrawing, the package box 100 includes an outer box 200 and two cushions300 disposed symmetrically inside the outer box 200. Each cushion 300has a containing space 302. The package box 100 can hold an article 400,such as a laptop computer. For example, both ends of the article 400 aredisposed inside the containing space 302 of the cushion 300. Afterwards,the article 400 along with the two cushions 300 is disposed inside thepackage box 100. It should be noted that the article 400 can be stablykept inside the outer box 200 without hitting the outer box 200 duringthe transportation, as long as two cushions 300 of the same structureare disposed on both ends of the article 400. Therefore, the disclosedpackage box 100 only requires one type of cushion. In comparison withother package boxes that require different cushions, the invention ismuch simpler in transportation, internal logistics, production, andassembly.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the structure of the disclosedcushion. FIG. 3 is the cross section of FIG. 2 along the A-A′ line. Withsimultaneous reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the shape of the cushion 300 isrectangular. It includes a rectangular bottom plate 310, two long sideplates 320, two short side plates 330, and at least two containerstructures 341 a, 341 b. Each long side plate 320 is connectedperpendicularly with the long side 311 of the bottom plate 310. Eachshort side plate 330 is connected perpendicularly with the short side312 of the bottom plate 310. The container structures 341 a, 341 b aredisposed opposite to each other in the region enclosed by the bottomplate 310, the long side plates 320, and the short side plates 330. Eachof the container structures 341 a, 341 b has a concave 343. The concaves343 are connected to form the containing space 302. It should beremarked that the shapes of the long side plates 320, the short sideplates 330, and the container structures 341 a, 341 b can be designedaccording to the shape of the article to be contained therein. Thebottom plate 310 can be square. The cushion 300 can be square as well.

The container structure 341 a and the container structure 341 b aredisposed opposite to each other. Each of the container structures 341 a,341 b has a first plate 342, a second plate 344, a concave side plate346, and a concave bottom plate 348. The first plate 342 is connectedperpendicularly to the long side plate 320. Both the concave side plate346 and the concave bottom plate 348 are arranged between the secondplate 344 and the first plate 342. The concave side plate 346 isconnected perpendicularly with the first plate 342. The concave bottomplate 348 is connected perpendicularly with the second plate 344. Theconcave side plate 346 and the concave bottom plate 348 are connectedperpendicularly to form the concave 343. Each of the containerstructures 341 a, 341 b can further includes a third plate 349 disposedon the bottom plate 310. The third plate 349 is connectedperpendicularly with the second plate 344 for the container structure tobe more stable.

In order for the cushion 300 to provide better cushion effects, thefirst plate 342 has a cushion opening 363, such as a long stripe openingof a length about, for example, ⅔ of the length of the cushion 300.

As shown in FIG. 4, the plate material 500 is preferably made of paperof better quality, such as corrugated paper and copperplate paper.Moreover, the flute direction of the material (e.g., corrugated paper)has the design to sustain longitudinal pressure (axial pressure). Thisenhances the compression strength of the package boxes when they arestacked together. The plate material 500 can be formed by thermalmolding on paper pulp or by cutting a single paper board. Beforefolding, the plate material 500 is a flat paper board. The cushion 300is formed after folding. The plate material 500 includes a bottom plate310, two long side plates 320, two short side plates 330, and twocontainer structures 341 a, 341 b.

More explicitly, the bottom plate 310 is rectangular. Each long side 311of the bottom plate 310 is connected in sequence the long side plate320, the first plate 342, the second plate 344, and the third plate 349.A first folding line 351 is formed between the long side plate 320 andthe bottom plate 310. A second folding line 352 is formed between thefirst plate 342 and the long side plate 320. A third folding line 353 isformed between the second plate 344 and the first plate 342. A fourthfolding line 354 is formed between the third plate 349 and the secondplate 344. Parallel cutting lines 361, 362 are formed on the first plate342 and the second plate 344. A fifth folding line 355 is formed on thefirst plate 342 between the cutting lines 361, 362. A sixth folding line356 and a seventh folding line 357 are formed on the second plate 344between the cutting lines 361, 362. All the folding lines are parallelto one another. The cutting line 361 is perpendicular to the firstfolding line 351. The fifth folding line 355, the sixth folding line356, the seventh folding line 357, the cutting line 361, and the cuttingline 362 together define the concave side plate 346 and the concavebottom plate 348.

With further reference to FIG. 4, the short side plate 330 is connectedto the short side 312 of the bottom plate 310. An eighth folding line358 is formed between the short side plate 330 and the bottom plate 310.The short side plate 330 has at least one fixing chip 332 connected tothe short side plate 330. A ninth folding line 359 is formed between thefirst fixing chip 332 and the short side plate 330. Two second fixingchips 334 are formed on the short side plate 330 connected to the shortside plate 330. A tenth folding line 360 is formed between the secondfixing chip 334 and the short side plate 330.

Please refer simultaneously to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. The plate material 500is folded according to the following steps to form the cushion 300.First, it is first folded along the third folding line 353 and thefourth folding line 354 according to the cross-sectional view of thecontainer structure 341 a as shown in FIG. 3. Afterwards, it is foldedalong the fifth folding line 355, the sixth folding line 356, and theseventh folding line 357 to form the container structure 341 a. Thecontainer structure 341 b is formed in the same way. Afterwards, it isfolded along the first folding line 351 and the second folding line 352,so that the long side plate 320 is perpendicular to the bottom plate 310and the container structures 341 a, 341 b are located above the bottomplate 310.

Afterwards, the plate is folded along the eighth folding line 358, theninth folding line 359, and the tenth folding line 360, so that theshort side plate 330 is perpendicular to the bottom plate 310, the firstfixing chip 332 is inserted between the short side plate 330 and thelong side plate 320, the second fixing chip 334 is inserted between theshort side plate 330 and the first plate 342, thereby fixing the shapeof the cushion 300. The cushion 300 thus has a smooth rectangular shape.Since the plate material 500 has a symmetrical structure, the structureson both sides of the bottom plate 310 can be formed by same folding.This simplifies the folding involved in the cushion 300. Moreover, theprocesses of transportation, internal logistics, design cost, productionand assembly can be simplified as well.

In summary, the invention has the following advantages:

1. The disclosed cushion can support and fix the article containedinside the package box, preventing it from damages due to externalimpacts. Moreover, the flute direction of the material (e.g., corrugatedpaper) has the design to sustain longitudinal pressure (axial pressure).This enhances the compression strength of the package boxes when theyare stacked together.

2. The disclosed cushion is formed by folding paper material. Itrequires less material and is more friendly to the environment.

3. The disclosed cushion has a smooth shape to avoid cuts on the user.

4. The disclosed cushion and its plate material have symmetricalstructures and can be integrally formed. This therefore simplifies theprocesses of transportation, internal logistics, production andassembly.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intendedto be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. A package box, comprising: an outer box; and at least two cushionsdisposed symmetrically inside the outer box, each of which includes: abottom plate having two long sides and two short sides; two long sideplates connected perpendicular with the long sides of the bottom plate;two short side plates connected perpendicular with the short sides ofthe bottom plate; and at least two container structures disposedoppositely in the region enclosed by the bottom plate, the long sideplates, and the short side plates; wherein each container structure hasa concave and the concaves are connected to form a containing space. 2.The package box of claim 1, wherein the container structure includes afirst plate connected perpendicularly with the long side plate, a secondplate perpendicular to the first plate, a concave side plate, and aconcave bottom plate, the concave side plate and the concave bottomplate being disposed between the first plate and the second plate, theconcave side plate being connected perpendicularly with the first plate,the concave bottom plate being connected perpendicularly with the secondplate, and the concave side plate and the concave bottom plate beingconnected perpendicular with each other.
 3. The package box of claim 2,wherein the container structure has a third plate on the bottom plateand connected perpendicularly with the second plate.
 4. The package boxof claim 2, wherein the first plate has a cushion opening.
 5. Thepackage box of claim 1, wherein the material of the cushion is paper. 6.The package box of claim 1, wherein the material of the cushion iscorrugated paper or copperplate paper.
 7. A cushion for a package box,comprising: a bottom plate having two long sides and two short sides;two long side plates connected perpendicularly with the long sides ofthe bottom plate; two short side plates connected perpendicularly withthe short sides of the bottom plate; and at least two containerstructures disposed oppositely in the region enclosed by the bottomplate, the long side plates, and the short side plates; wherein eachcontainer structure has a concave and the concaves are connected to forma containing space.
 8. The cushion for a package box of claim 7, whereinthe container structure includes a first plate connected perpendicularlywith the long side plate, a second plate perpendicular to the firstplate, a concave side plate, and a concave bottom plate, the concaveside plate and the concave bottom plate being disposed between the firstplate and the second plate, the concave side plate being connectedperpendicularly with the first plate, the concave bottom plate beingconnected perpendicularly with the second plate, and the concave sideplate and the concave bottom plate being connected perpendicular witheach other.
 9. The cushion for a package box of claim 8, wherein thecontainer structure has a third plate on the bottom plate and connectedperpendicularly with the second plate.
 10. The cushion for a package boxof claim 8, wherein the first plate has a cushion opening.
 11. Thecushion for a package box of claim 7, wherein the material of thecushion is paper.
 12. The cushion for a package box of claim 7, whereinthe material of the cushion is corrugated paper or copperplate paper.13. A plate material for forming a cushion for a package box,comprising: a bottom plate having two long sides and two short sides;two short side plates connected respectively to the short sides; twolong side plates connected respectively to the long sides; and twocontainer structures connected respectively to the long side plates;wherein each container structure includes a first plate, a second plate,a concave side plate, and a concave bottom plate; the concave side plateand the concave bottom plate are disposed between the first plate andthe second plate; the concave side plate is connected with the firstplate, the concave bottom plate is connected with the second plate, andthe concave side plate and the concave bottom plate are connected witheach other.
 14. The plate material of claim 13, wherein a first foldingline is formed between the long side plate and the bottom plate, asecond folding line is formed between the first plate and the long sideplate, a third folding line is formed between the second plate and thefirst plate; a third plate is connected to the second plate and a fourthfolding line is formed between the third plate and the second plate. 15.The plate material of claim 14, wherein two cutting lines are formed onthe first plate and the second plate and perpendicular to the firstcutting line, a fifth folding line is formed between the cutting lineson the first plate, a sixth folding line and a seventh folding line areformed between the cutting lines on the second plate, and the fifth,sixth, and seventh folding lines are parallel to the first folding line.16. The plate material of claim 13, wherein an eighth folding line isformed between the short side plate and the bottom plate.
 17. The platematerial of claim 13, wherein the short side plate has at least a firstfixing chip connected to the short side plate and a ninth folding lineis formed between the first fixing chip and the short side plate; theshort side plate has at least a second fixing chip connected to theshort side plate and a tenth folding line is formed between the secondfixing chip and the short side plate.
 18. The plate material of claim13, wherein the first plate has a cushion opening.
 19. The platematerial of claim 13, wherein the material of the plate material ispaper.
 20. The plate material of claim 13, wherein the material of theplate material is corrugated paper or copperplate paper.